12 December, 2008

One of the great things about this blog is getting ideas for products. Thank you! Several of the products we've decided to start stocking or making are a direct result of comment on this blog and e-mails from customers. For example:

We should have 17-degree VO stems in 2-3 months. I would not have guessed that so many folks wanted them. Quill stems are another matter and will take some serious research.

Minnihaha bags will be in stock at VO next week. These are fairly inexpensive cotton panniers and saddle bags with leather trim.

Tom has finished testing the economical dynamo hubs I wrote about some weeks ago and we have decided to put in an order for them. While they are not as nice as the more expensive SON and Shimano hubs, the VO community has convinced us that there is a need for a basic dynamo hub. We will have a quick release version in stock sometime this winter.

It seems that the VO French thread bottom brackets will actually be made.

This listening to customers idea is working out pretty well. I wonder if the big American auto companies should start blogs?

37 comments:

one question about the vo stem. is it safe for a carbon steer tube? i was using a nitto ui-5 and found the clamp are so sharp that it dug into my steer tube. my ritchey stem does not do this, but it is not attractive to me

I think the Auto companies get enough of the enthusiast community's comments through varoious clubs, websites, events, etc. I think that's closer to what VO commenters are -a community of enthusiasts. Thanks for listening, and for commenting on the behind-the-scenes stuff.

will you be stocking LED dynamo lights as well? I know planet bike has one on their website, but havent seen it locally. if you could do that light with a mount that would make it front rack-friendly, I'd buy one...

Any more info on those french BB? Will they be cheaper than the Phil ones that I can't bring myself to buy? I've had good luck with the cheap Shimano UN 54 & 72 BBs on my commuting bikes and would love to see something similar in a French thread for my fixed gear Peugeot that is in serious need of a replacement.

It's been nice to see new chain guards styled after the old French ones. Today I was browsing the eBay for vintage bike parts and came across a bike that, although not a NOS 50's Cinelli, was still many a young boy's dream back in the day:

oh! i'm excited about the dynohub too! i want to build a winter beater, but dynamo lighting is essential for my winter commute and i always felt that dropping $100 on a shimano nexus or alfine hub seemed in contrast to the spirit of a beater.

with respect to USB charging, some students have knocked up a crude version: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Charge-Any-USB-Device-by-Riding-Your-Bike/

apparently, they'd never heard of dynohubs, but a bridge rectifier between a dynohub and a mintyboost should do the trick.

i spent quite a bit of time designing a dyno powered lithium ion battery charger for my wife's bike:

"Old steel Cinelli type quill stem please. I bet you would be able to sell a ton of these. Only way get a new one is to have one custom made at a very dear price."

hey anon 15:32: I couldn't open your link. Does it look like the one above? I agree any sort of nice steel stem would sell a ton to go with the lugged steel bikes so beloved around here. I think it needs a slightly longer quill than the old track stems due to the more versatile use these stems are likely to see. But yeah.

That USB adaptor sounds like a great idea. In addition to charging phones and ipods and the like, some rechargeable headlights are now made to charge on a USB outlet, and a cheap LED light with four AA nicads in it would be easy to set up for charging during the day. I have a friend who is an endurance racer, and we have talked for years about using a dynamo hub to charge a helmet light during the day, then powering a standard headlight with it at night. I have considered cobbling something together for him, but it would not be user friendly even without fatigue factored in. The USB thing would make it clean and straightforward.

Chris, have you checkd out the new Planet Bike LD/Blaze Dynamo headlight? http://ecom1.planetbike.com/3048.html Attractive price and I've been pretty happy with most the PB stuff I've used. I haven't seen any independent reviews but looks like a good match for your new dyno hub

The Planet Bike light is okay but it's unthinkable to mount a permanent light on your handlebars. Perhaps there's a way to have a different type of mount made up, so that it will fit onto the bike like a traditional dynamo headlight.

anon 12/12 11:35- I'm gonna play it safe and say no. The VO stem, like any stem with the pinch bolts in parallel, are not going to be ideal. The pinch bolts draw the stem into the steerer and there is usu a sharp edge like you described.

lynnef- we should put photos of the hub up soon. we will take a couple shots of the connectors. They are different than the SON hub.They are closer to a shimano or sturmey type connector. The connecting cable will NOT have a USB port on it!

All: French BBsets will sell for under $50. They will be available through your LBS as well as Velo Orange. The right side cup is permanently pressed on the hubshell. More details (and possibly photos) will be posted as we get closer to shipment.